The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Chrysanthemum plant, botanically known as Dendranthema grandiflora and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name Purple Yolima. The plant is being marketed under the name Purple Lima.
The new Chrysanthemum is a product of a mutation induction breeding program conducted by the inventor in Fort Myers, Fla., and Salinas, Calif. The objective of the program is to create new Chrysanthemum cultivars with desirable inflorescence form and floret colors, good substance, and excellent post-production longevity.
The new Chrysanthemum originated by exposing unrooted cuttings of the Chrysanthemum cultivar Yolima (copening U.S. Plant patent application Ser. No. 09/112,201) to X-ray radiation at a level of 2,000 rads in October, 1994, in Fort Myers, Fla. Following the radiation treatment, the cuttings were rooted and terminal apices were removed (pinched) three times to promote lateral branch development. After lateral branches from the third pinch reached sufficient size, terminal cuttings were harvested, planted and flowered in a controlled environment in Salinas, Calif. The new Chrysanthemum was discovered and selected by the inventor as a single flowering plant within this population in March, 1995. The selection of this plant was based on its desirable inflorescence form and floret colors and excellent post-production longevity.
Asexual reproduction of the new Chrysanthemum by terminal cuttings harvested in a controlled environment in Salinas, Calif., has shown that the unique features of this new Chrysanthemum are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.